“One of the goals of any counseling treatment therefore is to confront these demons from the past, and, for a long time psychedelics were used as a very helpful tool in creating an altered state of consciousness where these memories could come to the fore and be dealt with.”
- Tony Bowden, Out Of Your Head …Or Into It?
In the case of the Easter Sunday experiment of Timothy Leary, of his twenty participants taking LSD while attending a spiritual event, literally half, twenty years later, had ended up going into seminary or some other spiritual calling. Numerous drug explorers also speak about not expecting to get a spiritual or sacred experience out of their trips, but had them anyway. Others have their worlds shaken up, the experience from their hallucinations affecting them days, weeks or even years later. LSD, DMT, DXM, MDMA, ecstasy, ketamine and other artificially derived hallucinogens have been used for sacred exploration by modern followers of the Path of Sacred Plants. Sometimes, these things are an accident: the HIV medication Sustiva (Efavirenz) is being sold on the black market as a tool for astral journeying and tripping while you sleep, due to its accidental quality of people have hyper-vivid dreams that continue the pre-sleep work of an individual.
Sage
Though sage has little neurochemical effect on the human body, it can have a great deal of effect on the energetic charge of an individual or space. It is used in various pagan and native sacred workings as a way to cleanse a space or individual, and prepare them for the coming work to be done. This can be done by other forms of incense, as well, in other cultures.
Stimulants
The original use of stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, cocaine and amphetamines allowed focus to be heightened or kept at a high degree for an extended period of time. So, as a tool in the Path of Sacred Plants, they have their place. They provide an altered state, where the world can be brought down to one pinpoint of focus. Unfortunately, when one comes to rely on stimulants, their ability to alter reality or act as a boosting signal is reduced or removed. When the morning cup of coffee is a necessity, it becomes challenging to use caffeine as a way to sharpen skills and focus before engaging in strenuous workings.
Opium
In the ancient world, opium was the strongest pain killer available—a huge deal in the world before anesthesia. In Egypt, it was a plant credited to Thoth, god of wisdom, and in Greece poppy flowers were carried by Hypnos (Sleep), Nyx (Night), and Thanatos (Death). Opium was cultivated in Mesopotamia and ancient China alike. Though recreational use of opium has overshadowed its original uses such as it being the original sources of morphine and codeine for pain, opiates have been used as a tool for relaxation, pain management, and opening up the mind for visions. It’s incredibly difficult to seek enlightenment if your body hurts, and a variety of painkillers have altered the consciousness of Journeyers to make such work possible.
Kink tools
There is a great deal of debate amongst kink practitioners and organizations as to whether chemical substances should ever be allowed in combination with alternative (or any) sexual practices. However, most of us in our day-to-day life are medicated without even being aware of it. Aspirin, coffee, cigarettes and the vast spectrum of pharmaceuticals for mood disorders, abound as common practice, not taking into account how these affect our pain tolerance, focus, and ability to engage fully as hedonists or spiritual Journeyers.
We will be examining some of the ethical issues surrounding these substances further on in this chapter. For now, simply know that some individuals do choose to use traditional tools of the Path of Sacred Plants in conjunction with erotic explorations or as a way to intensify relationship connections. There are other tools along this path that are uniquely accessible to kinksters that may be less accessible or meaningful amongst other groups.
Poppers
The street name for various forms of alkyl nitrites such as amyl nitrate and isopropyl nitrite, used as a video head cleaner and historically as a treatment for angina. Inhaling poppers relaxes smooth muscle tissue (including the vaginal and anal sphincter), increases heart rate, and increases the sensation of heat and excitement in the body. The head rush and fuzzy feeling can create a euphoric sensation that some find useful for altered states, while relaxing sphincters has made it popular amongst anal sex and fisting fans over the years. The sensation of having a hand or large object inserted in a pleasurable manner in an orifice can be a trance-inducing experience for some individuals, and poppers have been used by some as a tool for such working. Unfortunately, combining poppers with Viagra (which gets used by some Path of the Flesh practitioners but rarely as a tool that creates altered states on its own) can lead to a serious decrease in blood pressure, potentially leading to for heart attack or stroke.
Cigars
Along with pipes, rituals around cigar preparation and enjoyment have been used within the leather community and some other parts of the kink community as powerfully primal tool. However, using cigars as a way to transmit chemicals from one partner to another, place it on this path as well. Having human ashtrays eat tapped-off ash can be deeply mood-altering, as can blowing smoke in the face or down the hoses of a gas mask. Cigars provide an opportunity for a dominant partner to use this path as a way to ceremonially engage in tobacco as a form of prayer, meditation or connection in modern times.
Pheromones
Though no peer-reviewed studies prove that any specific scents, smells, or body chemicals will instantly attract one person to another, it has been shown that amongst other creatures there are a wide variety of chemical cues that are given off. Some signal danger, others mark territory, or signal sexual attractiveness, availability and interest. In the 1970s, perfume companies tried to use the sex pheromones of rhesus monkeys to create attraction, and others have hypothesized that exposing women to mens armpit sweat can regulate menstruation. Artificial versions of these invisible signatures are used by some erotic explorers to change their own mood, or those of the individuals around them. Unfortunately, as they are a chemical scent, they don’t pinpoint their target well—the information goes out to everyone who can smell it, and since it’s not emanating from the flesh, the subconscious may not be sure of who it’s coming from. In short, some people get turned on to the guy next to them because they are wearing pheromones, and others are not affected at all.
Ambien
Zolpidem is a prescription medication for insomnia sold under the name Ambien. Because of its potential side effects such as physical sensory hallucinations, altered thought patterns, euphoria, dysphoria, increased libido, amnesia, increased impulsiveness and poor motor coordination, Ambien has been used by some individuals in the Scene for sacred exploration and other altered state workings. Unfortunately, like a number of the traditional tools on this path, addiction, drug dependence and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms are all real issues with continued use of Ambien.
Chakra Piercing
Though not a sacred plant, if we broaden the definition of this path to include external inputs that have been shown to consistently create mind-altering experiences, I would venture to argue that piercing of the flesh can be part of this path as well. This is especially true of chakra piercing, ball-dancing, hook pulls, crowns of thorns, kavadi, and hook suspensions that are approached from a non-ordeal perspective. When we open up the flesh, something is bound to come out. This is especially true of piercing at any of the chakras, where energy is running close to the surface. Experiencing visions when having the Third Eye pierced on the surface of the skin, or having emotionally transformational experiences when having the flesh over their heart chakra pierced are a common and a useful tool along this path.
Waterboarding
There is a reason that trained specialists in interrogation resistance can only last a few minutes being waterboarded. When our sinuses and back of the throat feel wet, our lizard brain is convinced we are drowning, even if we can technically survive a very long time of having it done to us. If we are trying to evoke the surviva
l instinct and hack the brain into this deeply primal state, waterboarding is an amazing tool.
It is not limited to waterboarding, which I would usually classify as a tool along the Ordeal Path. Any tricks done to the brain that convince us we might die, especially that work quickly, can transform us to a primal state and so appear here on the Path of Sacred Plants. Any time we are able to activate our own neurochemical system in a fast and profound manner, the immediate neurochemical effect allows that those tools that work in that way can be discussed here, not just as an Ordeal Path or Path of the Flesh working. Ordeals and Flesh workings deal with the mind. Path of Sacred Plants directly hacks the brain.
These primal states are not to be played with lightly. Just as with extended use of hallucinogens, Journeyers who go “too far” don’t always come back in the same shape as they went out. Even as short as one minute of intense waterboarding can shake some people out of their right mind, tearing their own shoulders out of socket or selling government secrets just for the opportunity to survive. Along with other Sacred Plant workings, extra care is needed for aftercare, as the emotional and energetic impact of this work may manifest over the coming days, weeks and years, and should not be undertaken lightly.
Unlocking the Gates
They place me in bondage and I wait. I wade into myself. I close my eyes and listen to the music, feeling my body. Hands caress me from time to time, and every once in a while the Priest kneels before me to check in on me. Their lips meet mine and kiss, and I respond hungry and needing. Until finally, I don’t. I don’t chase their lips this time. I open my eyes, and watch their nose become a beak, watch their neck become feathers, watch their eyes turn black, and watch their face fly away.
The work begins in earnest, my skin alive with each touch. They unbind me from where I am and lay me flat on a heavy wooden board. I am lashed in place, and I stare into each of their faces in turn. One has become a cat, another a horse, a third is crowned with the head of a snake. But each I still know for themselves, if I focus. I feel their hands and ropes across me, feel the board against my back, and feel safe. They lean me up against a wall, tethering and attaching the board in place so it cannot fall over. I hold space, and with all three eyes open, I watch on.
Across from me, they have set up the other scene for the night. Her robes have been pulled down, and she stands nude before me, a Greek statue sporting a nose ring. My loins stir, longing for her alabaster, starving for her marble. My eyes catch hers, and we begin to breathe in time with each other. The smell of Technicare begins to fill the air as skilled hands wipe her down and they let the skin cleanser do its work. Sage fades, Technicare rises, and my nose is alive with memories ancient and modern.
Her eyes lock with me again, and I see latex-gloved hands enter the frame of my vision. They have the needles out, and her eyes lock with mine. The needle penetrates her third eye, and all three eyes light up and lock with mine.
White light flies. Blue sighs explode. She sees me, and I see her. I am bound, and she is free, but both of our spirits know one another. Five sets of hands hold her in place, five sets of ropes hold me to the board. Five sets of eyes fly between us, and we step through the gates of truth before us.
Kink and Chemistry Ethics
We must all make choices.
In some parts of the community, a drink is normal. In others, heavy drinking is acceptable. When play or social venues are in pubs, clubs and bars, at private gatherings in some homes, or at hotel events where the hotel contract involves a no-host bar, it is expected behavior to engage in. Having a drink is not a big deal for this contingent of the community—we are all responsible consenting adults, making choices.
For other parts of the community, drinking is banned. When the group has members who are under the age of 21 or venues have no alcohol license, drinking as part of kink gatherings is unthinkable. Why put our group in danger? Other groups have had a history with substance abuse causing problems in play spaces, or the organizers are in recovery groups. Perhaps they found that when drinking and kink is combined, Tops lose their focus and Bottoms lose their ability to quickly respond with safewords.
So many kink practices, as mentioned throughout this book, induce altered states of consciousness already. Drinking or doing drugs can distract from the “high” provided from these inputs, and thus are believed to detract from the experience. They can also cancel each other out, making neither experience pleasurable.
These same debates apply out to all working and stimuli on the Path of Sacred Plants. There are passionate opinions on all sides of the issue. But how do you make your own choices, around sacred plants or any other tool for altered states?
Tool or Crutch?
Are you using this tool because it is useful, or because you have to? Having a drink to loosen up, let go of a day of work and as an opportunity to connect with a play parter is one thing. Needing four drinks before you are willing to get naked in public is another. If you need to drink, do lines, shoot up, smoke out, or drop pills to be able to engage in kink, why are you engaging in kink? Are there other issues at hand?
Sacred or Profane?
Are you purposefully and consciously using specific stimuli for reaching an altered state of consciousness to do sacred working, explore trance states, perform magic, or make connections? Or are you doing it just because it feels good? Helps you forget your day? So that you can be lazy and skip straight to the high instead of having to play to get there?
Using drugs for profane reasons is a valid choice. But it is a very different reason to use these substances from choosing to do this work for spiritual reasons. Smoking marijuana as a ritualized offering to Shiva, and toking on a bong to get high with friends are different experiences. There are some individuals who do both, but most of the time they can pinpoint which times are for which purposes. This applies to any tool in our arsenal—a flogger can be good fun, or a tool for engaging in trance work. But the two are different.
Who is Your Purpose?
Who proposed the idea? What appeals to them about using external stimuli to directly affect brain chemistry? Is this a good idea for you, or are you doing it out of peer pressure? Is there a ritual or cultural reason behind it? Do they expect anyone else to go on the journey with them and take drugs as well? Is this a one-time journey?
In some cultures or religious groups, purposeful consumption of specific substances is part of specific rituals. The trip is dictated by the ritual. Some spirits and deities ask for libations in their name or for their pleasure. The trip is dictated by dedication or connection to that spirit or deity. Other times it is something a person has always wanted to try, and would prefer to do as a ritual to make it special, unique, memorable. Some have hit a wall in their processing of an issue in their life and want to use the tool as a way to break down that wall. Why do you want to do it?
Skill Competency and Communication
Piercings, or cuttings, while the piercer is on hallucinogens is dangerous. Being heavily beaten while on alcohol or other depressants slows down response times, and can lead to Bottoms getting seriously hurt before they realize how bad off they are. Each stimulus we put into our body alters our consciousness, which is the point of working with them. This means that we need to know what a stimulus does to our bodies and our brains. This applies to all sorts of inputs: prescription, recreational, and sacred.
What about having a guardian or spotter for your working? An un-affected participant who can step in if our judgment is impaired? What about only using kink tools that we know inside and out, and can literally do blindfolded or intoxicated? What about using kink tools that cause harm—on ecstasy, a feather will suffice where a whip may have been needed before. Different people are affected by their chemical stimuli differently; one person may be completely sharp on amphetamines, and another gets so distracted by the information coming in that they stop noticing the full picture of what they are participating in.
This issue is especially im
portant personal safety. Inebriated individuals often make stupid choices. Just because you are high does not mean that condoms suddenly become optional or promises to your patron deity, to not engage in magical working dedicated to others go away. Setting limits and communicating plans when all parties are sober and energetically present is hugely important to not re-negotiate once under altered states.
Legal Ramifications
How are you acquiring the substances to be used? Is it legally available? Will other tools that are legal substitute for the working you have planned? If someone is caught purchasing, being in possession, or using, what will happen? Will it affect anyone else, perhaps the venue owners, the individual supplying, your play partner?
The Issue of Addiction and Fetish
Do you or your family have a history of addiction? With this substance? Have you had a chance to process that fully or undertake care of some sort before considering using what was once a crutch as a tool now? Are you interested in the substance as an experiment, an escape, or as a lifestyle?
The Eightfold Paths of BDSM and Beyond Page 37